Issue 178
Issue 178 is the one-hundred and seventy-eight issue of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and the fourth part of Volume 30: New World Order. It was published on April 4, 2018. Plot After walking in on Mercer and George's plans to overthrow the governor of the Commonwealth, Siddiq mentions how he has been looking for the bathroom and unconvincingly tries to assert that he did not hear anything. Though George moves towards Siddiq, Mercer holds him back. After learning that Siddiq is new in the Commonwealth, Mercer explains how he and George weren't actually serious about overthrowing Pamela and were just "blowing off steam". Mercer is grateful towards the governor and the way of life that she has provided, but calls her son "a fucking asshole" that will drive Siddiq crazy if he ever has the misfortune of meeting him. However, Mercer notices that Siddiq will most likely not have to deal with Sebastian. After making sure that everything is "cool", Siddiq awkwardly leaves down the hall to find the bathroom, leading to a humorous moment where Mercer tells him that the bathroom is in the opposite direction. Siddiq then walks off to the bathroom. At the Hilltop, Maggie is inspecting a paper on her desk while Dante tries to get intimate with her. She half-heartedly refuses, but Dante ultimately gets her to agree that she always liked his persistence and that she always pretended that Dante drove her crazy. Maggie agrees, mentioning how it is not the worst thing in the world to know that someone actually likes her, believing that Dante really likes her. At that point, however, Sophia enters the room. Appalled, she calls Maggie out for being with Dante and for being a "fucking whore" before angrily running out of the room. Maggie follows her to her room, finding Sophia on the floor. In tears, Sophia states how, despite being adopted, she had considered Glenn and Maggie like her parents and always believed that Maggie loved Glenn. Believing that Maggie no longer loves Glenn, she finds herself questioning whether Maggie ever did love Glenn and, also, if she ever loved Sophia, and if Maggie will stop loving her. Sophia also expresses her disgust for Dante, calling him gross and that he is nothing like Glenn. Maggie tells Sophia that she does love her, but that she is still a child and that Maggie's love life is not of her concern. Maggie states that she loves Glenn and will always love him, but that she has been alone for a very long time. Dante makes her happy and she is now at a point in her life where she now believes that she is meant to be happy. Sophia, however, is more upset over the fact that Maggie did not tell her that she was with Dante. She goes on to explain how everybody at the Hilltop had been gossiping about it and Sophia, believing that it was a lie, had been telling people to shut up. Now, Sophia admits she feels stupid and that she made a fool of herself. Maggie apologizes for not telling Sophia about her relationship with Dante, explaining that she had hoped to first figure what was going on between them before telling Sophia about it. This cheers up Sophia, who now believes their relationship to be a fling. Regardless, Maggie promises to tell Sophia about it when she figures it out, before jokingly commenting on she can maybe "whore it up" with some other guys too. At the Commonwealth, Michonne is looking out the window of Elodie's apartment, admitting that Alexandria can not compare to the Commonwealth. However, Michonne notices her daughter's sullen behavior and asks what is wrong. Crossly, Elodie says that she grew up hating her Michonne, blaming her for abandoning her and Colette, and later for the numerous tragedies that happened to her afterwards, including the deaths of her father and sister. Despite having placed the picture in the billboard, Elodie never had believed that she would ever see Michonne again, though she had often fantasized about an encounter with Michonne in which Elodie would yell, scream, and punch her mother for having abandoned Elodie and her sister. However, when she finally saw Michonne after so long, she couldn't do it, having been alone for such a long time, something Michonne understands. Michonne's calm and understanding attitude confuses and angers Elodie, reminding her mother that she grew up hating her. An exchange follows in which Elodie throws angry remarks at Michonne, claiming to still hate her and not wanting to be around or talk to her. Michonne takes these comments in stride, telling Elodie that she will be waiting for her to be ready to talk with Michonne. Shocked by Michonne's devotion to her, Elodie wonders aloud who is Michonne, unable to associate the woman standing before her with the image she had formed in her mind of the mother who had not cared about her family. Smiling broadly and with her arms wide open, Michonne tells Elodie that she is her mother and, now that she has finally found her, swears to never let go of her ever again. Mother and daughter embrace each other. Back at the Hilltop, Carl asks Sophia if the rumors about Maggie and Dante were true after all. Sophia confirms them, then voices her opinion on how she finds the whole thing being weird. Carl notices that she doesn't seem to approve, leading her to ask whether he approved when Rick and Andrea first got together. Carl admits that he was okay with it, having wanted his father to be happy. He also states his belief that, in time, Rick will find someone else, and he will be happy for him again when that happens. Sophia lets the matter go, noting that Carl was always more mature than she ever was. Carl jokingly says how that subject has never been up for debate, leading Sophia to playfully shove him. At the Commonwealth, Michonne has reunited with the others. She explains how her daughter has been living at the community for years, that she finds it safe and she likes it. Michonne concludes by stating that she trusts her daughter, and believes that if the Commonwealth trust her and her group, then she can trust them. Pamela finds the ordeal excellent, as it means that they can now skip to the part where they are getting to know each other and can actually start being friends. Eugene then asks if this means that he can finally be able to talk to Stephanie. Pamela then tells Lance to send for Stephanie, and tells the group that they are currently gathering the weapons that the Commonwealth previously took from them to return them. Pamela also voices a desire to see Alexandria for herself. She asks Eugene whether he and his group would be ready for a return trip soon, hoping for the group to enjoy the Commonwealth's hospitality first. Eugene nervously agrees on staying for a couple of days to organize the trip. Outside the community, the Commonwealth soldiers are returning the weapons back to the group alongside Elodie. Elodie is surprised that Michonne carries a sword with her. Michonne proudly admits her skill with it, though Elodie finds the katana weird. Just then, Stephanie joins the group and apologizes to Eugene for not having been at the meeting with them. She expresses her regret at having talked on the radio with Eugene, though he reassures her that if she hadn't done it they wouldn't be talking face to face. Pamela interrupts them, explaining how the Commonwealth has a very specific protocol regarding the integration of new groups, which they take very seriously. Stephanie concurs with the governor, stating that she was acting out of line and that, although everything worked out in the end, it could have just as well ended in disaster. Although they are allowed to use the radios, they are supposed to alert the authorities in case they ever stumble upon something new. Pamela then asks Stephanie to take the group to their settlement at Whitmore, where rooms have been prepared for their stay. She also comments on how she arranged for Michonne to share a room with Elodie, a sentiment to which the former agrees with. Pamela then takes her leave, going back to work to arrange everything for the trip and asking the group to enjoy their stay at the Commonwealth. After Pamela leaves, Michonne mentions how odd it was that she didn't explain that much to the group or ask too many questions regarding the trip. Stephanie believes that Pamela prefers to talk to leaders directly, stating that "that's just how things work here". Before Michonne can ask what Stephanie means by that, Sebastian arrives and loudly exclaims how he likes meeting new people. He light-heartedly apologizes for his first impression, admitting he is pretty bad at making them. Sebastian directly approaches Yumiko, asking for her name and introducing himself as the governor's son. He slyly offers to take Yumiko on a private tour, leading Yumiko to rebuff his advances. Sebastian then forcibly grabs Yumiko, angrily telling her that he makes a better ally than enemy. When Magna tries to intervene, Sebastian pushes her to the ground. Princess then pulls her spear on Sebastian, asking him what the heck is his problem. Angrily, he orders the Commonwealth soldiers to do something, leading them to order Princess to step away from Sebastian and to put her spear on the ground. Princess then asks if they are really gonna maker "put her goggles down". Although Michonne tries to stop Princess and listen to what they are telling her, Princess lowers her goggles down, replying "Too late". Princess uses the sharp end of her spear on a soldier, using the other end to push Sebastian down. Evading a blow to the head from a soldier's baton, Princess uses her spear to bring a soldier down before defending herself from an upper attack. As Princess continues attacking soldiers, Michonne tries in vain to get Princess to stop attacking. Princess pushes a soldier onto another soldier, bringing them both down. Princess then removes her goggles, claiming that she's all done. She takes a moment to mock the soldiers, calling them "wimps" and claiming that their armor is slowing them. Before she can finish her sentence, a thrown hatchet hits her hand and makes her drop her spear. Mercer, who threw the hatchet, orders Princess to not move. Lying on the ground, Sebastian angrily orders the officers to arrest Princess and all of her group. Mercer is unfazed, sarcastically asking whether that includes the others that he saw standing around doing nothing. Michonne tries to explain the situation as a big misunderstanding, starting to explain how Sebastian assaulted Yumiko. Sebastian denies the accusation, calling it absurd. Elodie offers to help him stand up, leaving Sebastian to slap Elodie across the face. Sebastian then defends himself by showing how his slapping Elodie constitutes as assault. He then threatens the entire group including Mercer, telling them that if any of them says a word he will make sure that all of them end up banished. Michonne angrily stands her ground, saying that this is not how they do this. She then reaches for her katana, but Elodie stops her mother. Scared, she urges Michonne to let the matter go, telling her that it is important that "they know their place". Michonne's face contorts to anger at her daughter's words. Credits *Carl Grimes *Sophia *Maggie Greene *Michonne Hawthorne *Eugene Porter *Magna *Yumiko *Siddiq *Dante *Juanita Sanchez *Lance Hornsby *Stephanie *Pamela Milton *George *Elodie Hawthorne *Sebastian Milton *Mercer *Hilltop residents *Commonwealth soldiers Deaths *None Trivia *This is the 13th issue where Rick Grimes doesn't appear. * Stephanie was Caucasian in her first appearance, but she is African-American in this issue. ** In the Letter Hacks for Issue 179, Sean admits that her skin tone "was off" in Issue 176 and that she is indeed African-American. Category:Media and Merchandise